Hi folks. I’m going to preface this by saying I’m a huge supporter of this game and I don’t want to just seem like I am being contrary for the sake of getting attention.
So, I am having a bit of trouble wrapping my head around the idea of very specific and detailed world like Duskwall set in a system that encourages players to adlib. Doesn’t it create the intrinsic problem that players will have to study the setting, lore and npc catalog before they get started and give answers that don’t contradict the already established fictive elements?
No more of a problem than when it comes up in any other game. The big difference is Blades make it clear the only canon/lore that matters is what your table has decided. Perfect example comes from the map making hangout. When talking about different districts, John said something to the effect of districts being in different locations from table to table.
Maybe I’m wrong, but I think it works well together. They’ve given us plenty of detail to draw upon, but they have encouraged us to alter and even overwrite their world in order to make it our own. It’s encouraging a custom metaplot–something some people will have trouble with, but that I enjoy thoroughly.
When I played the Quickstarter there was the fact that some players haven’t had the time to read the Kickstarter and that some details just weren’t fleshed out. Topics that came up were “What are demons?” “How are people from Tycheros are handled?” “How does the dagger isles work?” “Are there telephones?” “Is there air travel?”, “What is that group with that awesome name “Church of the ecstasy of the flesh” about [and half a dozen other factions we need to chose]?”.
While for other details I just could tell them like “Well, “rail jacks” are those who keep the trains safe from ghost attacks. Those spirit wardens likely do the same for the walls. Lampblacks were former lamp lighters. Lyssa just offed the former boss of the cross.” And other stuff.
We decided to decide it as we’ve seen fit.
As long as we stick with what we decided, with what we decided to be fictive etablished, the fiction is all okay.
From what I got it’s even seen as somewhat fun to basically use that way to make the setting one of our own.
There’s also a post lower down here in this community in which John Harper gives a sentence long break down of each organization on the crew sheet. I think it should be in the FAQ.
hari capra I’ve included the list in the FAQ document.
Some great answers here. Thanks guys.
Great post, Seth.
I’m trying to keep the lore broad but as shallow as possible. The only things from the canon that you need to know are the things you decide to bring into play. It’s not necessary to know about Marlane the pugilist unless you have a Cutter who cares about that friend. You don’t need to study a lot of details about how demons work, just in case it comes up in your game. We just know there are demons, and that gives you permission to fill in details about them as needed.
The setting is kind of like a scene prompt in an improv game. It gives you something to work with. Instead of saying, “It’s a fantasy city. What’s it like?” it says, “It’s this specific fantasy city, with this style and these features. What’s this feature like?” The constraints make creativity easier.